The Falling Sky

The Falling Sky is a remarkable first-person account of the life story and cosmo-ecological thought of Davi Kopenawa, shaman and spokesman for the Yanomami of the Brazilian Amazon. Representing a people whose very existence is in jeopardy, Davi Kopenawa paints an unforgettable picture of Yanomami culture, past and present, in the heart of the rainforest—a world where ancient in...

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The Falling Sky is a remarkable first-person account of the life story and cosmo-ecological thought of Davi Kopenawa, shaman and spokesman for the Yanomami of the Brazilian Amazon. Representing a people whose very existence is in jeopardy, Davi Kopenawa paints an unforgettable picture of Yanomami culture, past and present, in the heart of the rainforest—a world where ancient indigenous knowledge and shamanic traditions cope with the global geopolitics of an insatiable natural resources extraction industry.

In richly evocative language, Kopenawa recounts his initiation and experience as a shaman, as well as his first encounters with outsiders: government officials, missionaries, road workers, cattle ranchers, and gold prospectors. He vividly describes the ensuing cultural repression, environmental devastation, and deaths resulting from epidemics and violence. To counter these threats, Davi Kopenawa became a global ambassador for his endangered people. The Falling Sky follows him from his native village in the Northern Amazon to Brazilian cities and finally on transatlantic flights bound for European and American capitals. These travels constitute a shamanic critique of Western industrial society, whose endless material greed, mass violence, and ecological blindness contrast sharply with Yanomami cultural values.

Bruce Albert, a close friend since the 1970s, superbly captures Kopenawa’s intense, poetic voice. This collaborative work provides a unique reading experience that is at the same time a coming-of-age story, a historical account, and a shamanic philosophy, but most of all an impassioned plea to respect native rights and preserve the Amazon rainforest.

Foreword [Jean Malaurie]
Maps
1. The Yanomami Territory in Brazil (Terra Indígena Yanomami)
2. Location of the Terra Indígena Yanomami
3. Detailed map of the Terra Indígena Yanomami (cited Portuguese toponyms)
4. Detailed map of the Terra Indígena Yanomami (cited Yanomami toponyms)
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Foreword [Jean Malaurie]
Maps
1. The Yanomami Territory in Brazil (Terra Indígena Yanomami)
2. Location of the Terra Indígena Yanomami
3. Detailed map of the Terra Indígena Yanomami (cited Portuguese toponyms)
4. Detailed map of the Terra Indígena Yanomami (cited Yanomami toponyms)
5. Location of cited ethnic groups
Setting the Scene [Bruce Albert]
The Yanomami in Brazil
Davi Kopenawa, Shaman and Yanomami Spokesperson
Bruce Albert, Anthropologist
The Meeting
The Book
Orthography, Pronunciation, and Glossaries
Words Given
I. Becoming Other
1. Drawn Words
2. The First Shaman
3. The Xapiri’s Gaze
4. The Animal Ancestors
5. The Initiation
6. Spirits’ Houses
7. Image and Skin
8. The Sky and the Forest
II. Metal Smoke
9. Outsider Images
10. First Contacts
11. The Mission
12. Becoming a White Man?
13. The Road
14. Dreaming the Forest
15. Earth Eaters
16. Cannibal Gold
III. The Falling Sky
17. Talking to White People
18. Stone Houses
19. Merchandise Love
20. In the City
21. From One War to Another
22. The Flowers of Dream
23. The Spirit of the Forest
24. The Shamans’ Death
Words of Omama
How This Book Was Written [Bruce Albert]
Appendixes
A. Ethnonym, Language, and Orthography
B. The Yanomami in Brazil
C. Watoriki
D. The Haximu Massacre
Notes
Ethnobiological Glossary
Geographic Glossary
References
Acknowledgments
Index
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